This invention relates to the flushing of animal waste collection pits and, more particularly, to an apparatus contained inside an animal housing facility for periodically flushing a waste collection pit.
In animal confinement facilities it is common to have the floor which supports the animals suspended above a waste collection pit. Excreted waste from the animals passes through gratings or other perforations in the suspended floor and falls into the waste collection pit. In one design of pit, the pit is relatively deep and the wastes are allowed to collect over an extended period of time. To clean the pit, the wastes, which are typically fairly liquid in a deep pit of this type, are pumped out of the collection pit to a treatment lagoon or for transport to a remote treatment or application site.
More common are relatively shallow waste collection pits wherein the waste is allowed to collect only for a relatively short period of time between cleanings or flushings. These shallow pits are constructed with a slope for drainage. Water is introduced into the high end of the collection pit and is intended to carry the waste with it as it drains to the low end of the pit.
A large volume of water is generally needed to flush the waste from the pit. The cost of such water, its treatment, and the need for water conservation and to limit pollution put severe restrictions of the volume of water that can efficiently be used in such systems. It is, accordingly, desirable to limit the volume of water used in a flushing operation. Water will be conserved also if it can be recycled and used in multiple flushing operations. In cold weather, it is necessary to keep the flushing water from freezing if it is stored outside of the animal housing facility between flushing operations.